The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a fighter aircraft used by the US Army Air Forces during World War II. Although it was originally conceived as a fighter, it operated successfully in the close-support and ground-attack role. It saw most combat action in service with the Soviet Air Force as it was formidably armed and armored. Essentially, it was an improved version of the P-39 Airacobra. It was the last piston-engine fighter designed for the US Army Air Forces.
The prototype of the P-63 Kingcobra, the XP-63A, made its maiden flight on December 7, 1942. It entered service with the US Army Air Forces on October 25, 1943. However, it first saw combat action on the Eastern Front, flying for the Soviet Air Force, in December 1943. From the 3,300 Kingcobras produced by Bell, 2,400 aircraft were delivered to the Soviet Union. A significant number also went to the free French forces. In the United States, it was given a variety of second-line duties, which included pilot training and manned target for gunnery exercises by fighters using frangible bullets. The US Navy also tested it, but it would not acquire it.
Technical Characteristics
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a single-engine, single-seat monoplane of all-metal construction. It had cantilever low wing, with dihedral angle. Both leading and trailing edge tapered towards the tip, which was rounded. The tail assembly was of conventional type, with a straight tail plane and one vertical fin. It had tricycle type landing gear, which was retractable, with the main wheels folding up inwardly into root of wing, and the forward wheel collapsing backwards into fuselage. The cockpit had a car-type door on the port side. The P-63E version was powered by one Allison V-1710-109, ¨V¨, inline piston engine, which delivered 1,450 horsepower and drove 4 propellers. The engine was mounted behind the cockpit.
Specifications (P-63A)
Type: fighter aircraft
Length: 9.96 m (32 feet, 8 inches)
Wing Span: 11.68 m (38 feet, 4 inches)
Wing Area: 23 m2 (248 square feet)
Height: 3.84 m (12 feet, 7 inches)
Power Plant: one 1,325-HP, Allison V-1710-93, V-shaped, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled piston engine.
Maximum Speed: 660 km/h (409 mph)
Rate of Climb: 13 m/s (2,500 feet/minute)
Combat Range: 724 km (450 miles)
Service Ceiling: 13,106 m (43,200 feet)
crew: one
Armament: one 37-mm cannon mounted in nose; four forward-firing 12.7-mm (.50-cal) machine guns; three 237-kg (520-lb) bombs.
Below, the prototype of the Kingcobra, the XP-63A in early December 1942.
A Kingcobra fighter aircraft in flight in July 1944.
The P-63E-1 version on a US Army Air Forces' airbase in 1944.
Below, a P-63C, on top, No 44416, and a P-63E, flying below it, with No 311721.
A Bell P-63 Kingcobra being tested by the US Navy in 1944.
